JAG's the real deal!!! I've played
his cigar box guitars and they absolutely rock.
His cds are mandatory listening for any prim-rock wannabe.

-Shane Speal, self-proclaimed king of the
Cigar Box Guitar

"The BBJ 3 stringer plays
absolutely super and is built like a tank.
Out of all my CBG family instruments, it's my rock...my Steady
Eddie.
Always in tune, always ready to go, always
delivers the goods."

S.Williams, Vincent OH

All CBG's Can Be Made With 3 or
4 Strings and Humbucker or Hand Wound Pickup, Sound Hole and Gold
Corners

All amps are 7 watts and run off a
9 volt battery. They are plenty loud enough for living room
jamming. All my CB amps have external speaker outputs so you
can plug them into the PA or a larger amp. I use this setup
live and can get a GREAT tone thru my Fender amp.

"
I've been playing six and 12 string guitar
(on and off) for30 years, within
an hour of watching Jag's video, I learned
more about playingfingerstyle and
slide than I've picked up from the countless
books and competing videos

I've wasted money
on over the years. I can't recommend or
endorse Jag's video lessonshighly enough.
It's opened up a whole new style of playing
for me.

Jag's video makes
it simple. You'll learn most all of
whatyou need to know
about fingerstyle and slide in nothing
flat.

In
short....Doughboy says "Buy
it!"

Thanks
again,

Ron "Blind
Doughboy" Marr

Questions? Don't see a box you
want?

Any CBG Can Be Made As A
Fretted or Fretless Guitar, Acoustic/Electric
and Can Have A Single Coil or Humbucker Pickup

I make sure the action (string
height) is low enough for regular fretting but high enough for slide
playing. A lot of CBG's have strings up to an inch above the
fretboard (!) That's way too high even for a slide only CBG but if
you like your strings crazy high or crazy low, you can adjust the
neck height with the neck bracket I put on all my CBG's.

An entire song recorded
entirely with cigar box guitars.
Lead solos were recorded on a ONE STRING diddley bow and a 3 string
12 inch candy tin guitar, the 'bass' is actually a 3 string cigar box
guitar tuned down.
These handcrafted instruments can also include guitar pickups if
specially requested.

Cigars were packed in boxes,
crates, and barrels as early as 1800, but the small sized boxes that
we are familiar with today did not exist prior to around
1840.[1] Until then, cigars were shipped in larger crates
containing 100 or more per case. After 1840, cigar manufacturers
started using smaller, more portable boxes with 20-50 cigars per
box.

Trace evidence of cigar box
instruments exist from 1840 to the 1860s. The earliest illustrated
proof of a cigar box instrument known is an etching copyrighted in
1876 of two Civil War Soldiers at a campsite with one playing a cigar
box fiddle. The etching was created by illustrator and artist Edwin
Forbes who, under the banner of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper,
worked for the Union Army. The etching was included in Forbes work
Life Stories of the Great Army. In the etching, the cigar box fiddle
clearly shows the brand ÔFigaroÕ on the cigar
box.

In addition to the etching, plans
for a cigar box banjo were published by Daniel Carter Beard,
co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America, in 1884 as part of
'Christmas Eve With Uncle Enos.' The plans, eventually retitled
ÔHow to Build an Uncle Enos BanjoÕ as part of Beard's
American BoyÕs Handy Book in the 1890 release as supplementary
material in the rear of the book.[2] These plans omitted the
story but still showed a step-by-step description for a playable
5-string fretless banjo made from a cigar box.

It would seem that the earliest
cigar box instruments would be extremely crude and primitive guitar,
; however, this is not always the case. According to Bill Jehle,
curator of The National Cigar Box Guitar Museum, and author of One
Man's Trash: A History of the Cigar Box Guitar,[3] has
acquired two cigar box fiddles built in 1886 and 1889 that seem very
playable and well built. The 1886 fiddle was made for an 8 year old
boy and is certainly playable, but the 1889 fiddle has a well carved
neck and slotted violin headstock. The latter instrument was made for
serious playing.

The cigar box guitars and fiddles
were also important in the rise of jug bands and blues. As most of
these performers were black Americans living in poverty, many could
not afford a "real" instrument. Using these, along with the washtub
bass (similar to the cigar box guitar), jugs, washboards, and
harmonica, black musicians performed blues during
socializations.

The Great Depression of the 1930s
saw a resurgence of homemade musical instruments. Times were hard in
the American south and for entertainment sitting on the front porch
singing away their blues was a popular pastime. Musical instruments
were beyond the means of everybody, but an old cigar box, a piece of
broom handle and a couple wires from the screen door and a guitar was
born.

About me:

I've been playing guitar for since
1977 and teaching guitar since 1980. I started playing in a cover
band in Little Rock while still in high school.
Opened up my own recording studio in 1984 (still in business and I
have the business
cards to prove it) and
recorded about 40 90 minute cassettes of my own music over the next
20+ years. Got into blues after discovering Robert Johnson and RL
Burnside. I've recorded over 20 full length CD's in the past 4 years
including acoustic blues, electric blues, piano blues, ambient
electronic and experimental electronic. I play regularly at local
bars and coffee houses, playing my cigar box guitar and 6 string
Simon and Patrick acoustic. I've made over 4000 CBG's of various
types.

A little history about this fun
instrument:

We've all heard about a famous
bluesman or country singer that started his career
on a simple homemade cigar box guitar. With a list of artists
including Jimi Hendrix, Roy Clark and Carl Perkins, the cigar box
guitar has been the precursor to many great careers and countless
inspiring stories. It's a wonder that nobody has documented its
magnificent history until now.

According to Dr. Tony
Hyman, curator of the National Cigar Museum
(http://www.cigarnexus.com/nationalcigarmuseum/), cigar boxes as
we know them didn't exist prior to the 1840's. Prior to then,
cigars were shipped in larger crates containing 100 more per case.
But after 1840, cigar manufacturers started using smaller, more
portable boxes
with 20-50 cigars per box.

Cigars were extremely popular
in the 19th Century, and therefore, many empty cigar boxes would
be laying around the house! The 1800's were also a simpler time
for Americans, when necessity was truly the mother of invention.
Using a cigar box to create a guitar, fiddle or a banjo was an
obvious choice for a few crafty souls.

The earliest proof of a cigar
box instrument we have found is an etching of two Civil War
Soldiers at a campsite with one playing a cigar box fiddle
[click here for picture]. This was created by French
artist, Edwin Forbes, who worked as an official artist for the
Union Army. The cigar box fiddle appears to sport an advanced
viola-length neck attached to a "Figaro" cigar box. The etching is
copyrighted 1876.

In addition to the etching,
plans for a cigar box banjo were published in the 1870's by Boy
Scout's founder, Daniel Carter Beard in St. Nicholas Magazine. The
plans, entitled "How to Build an Uncle Enos Banjo" [diagrams
pictured above] showed a step-by-step description for a
playable 5-string fretless banjo made from a cigar box. The plans
were eventually published in Beard's immensely popular American
Boy's Handy Book.

By the 20th Century, times were
still lean for many Americans and cigars gained even more
popularity. The "television of the day" was the trusty Sears and
Roebuck Catalog that allowed families to dream of items they'd
love to own. It also provided a catalyst for more homemade
creations.

In her magnificent book Fiddle
Fever, writer Sharon Arms Doucet describes Felix LeBlanc, a young
Cajun boy who makes a cigar box fiddle after studying violin
pictures in the Sears Catalog. The story, based on the life of
Cajun fiddler Canray Fontenot, details the entire building
process. "Canray said that he really wanted a fiddle when he was a
little boy," Doucet told us, "and an uncle or somebody told him to
use a cigar box. It was somewhat 'common knowledge' for them to
build instruments like this," she said. Fontenot and the fictional
Felix both used a tree branch as a bow, pine tar as resin and
screen wire as strings (although Felix eventually replaced the
screen wire with old strings from his uncle's fiddle.)

The cigar box guitar has such
an awesome pedigree. Blind Willie Johnson made a one-string when
he was five and learned how to play melodies up and down that
lonely string. Later, he would record the monumental Dark Was The
Night (Cold Was The Ground) on standard guitar. The song is a
instrumental classic that has droning chords laying the background
for a haunting melody played up and down on the high E string...a
technique he learned on his original one-string.

Not only does the cigar box
guitar have a great history, these little suckers are so much fun
to play. Each one has it's own unique sound. Mine are played with
a slide and have a great whining blues sound...one that just
cannot be emulated from another guitar. They're small, portable
and almost indestructable. And let's face it...they're weird
looking and attract major attention.

Source: Wikipedia

4 String CBG

Endorsements

JAG's the real deal!!! I've played
his cigar box guitars and they absolutely rock.

His cds are mandatory listening
for any prim-rock wannabe.

-Shane Speal, self-proclaimed king
of the Cigar Box Guitar

Dear Jag,

Just want to tell you how much I
love this 3 string you made.

I got it from the creative shop,
main st. in Little Rock.

I hope to meet you and thank you
in person someday.

The box is Nicaraguan La
Imperiosa, she's black w/brass corners.

Well done man!
Thank-you

I been playing for about 50 years.
This baby is welcome to my guitarsenal.

Thanks again,

Bud Bell

Sweet Cigar Box 6 string; sexy,
sounds amazing,
and the playability is incredible. Very fine instrument. Jag ships
world wide, and always creates
fine stringed instruments. I own a 4 string myself
and enjoy every minute playing it.

-Terry Guy, Little Rock

The cbg has arrived - it's the
best sounding and prettiest instrument I've ever seen - when I was
unpacking it my finger accidentally plucked a string - when I heard
the sound my eyes opened really wide and I said wow - thank you very
much - I can't wait to start playing it Awesome job I'm ordering
another one soon - just because I want another one!

-Terry Lewis, Russellville
Ar

Gday Jag. Got your order this
morning, love it man.
I'm sure my mate who's getting the CBG and cigar box amp for
christmas
will really dig on it. He does a bit of playing while he's chillin on
his
hammock out on the deck so it's going to cop a fair beating.
Hopefully you'll make another customer. Thanks again mate!

-Stu Riley, Australia

By the by, I use my 6 string CBG
every gig and I love it. Thanks so much.

-Brandon Rankin, Little
Rock

BBJ: Just got the Ashton
"Speedster" (great name!)
humbucker and it's just what I was looking for: cool box and even
cooler sound! Thanks!

-Bill Hammond, McKinney Falls,
Tx

Jag, I'm really enjoying the
3-string CBG, although small-bodied,
electric guitars are a new experience for me. Mostly I play
classical and flamenco guitars, but I have two acoustic steel
strings, which I need to play more often. I've been playing
tenor uke for about a year, so now with the 3-string, I'm
getting better at adapting to different scales, fret-
and string-separation dimensions, numbers of strings, and
having to think more about how to formulate chords on the fly.
I saw the video you added for my CBG! Thanks very much for
building such a nice guitar and getting it out so quickly.

-Jerry S., Las Cruces
NM

Bluesboy- I wanted to let you know
that you NAILED the custom CBG I ordered! The hum bucker
sounds great and the tone is amazing! Two of my buddies will be
contacting you soon to buy one!

-Tom Rainey Little Rock,
Ar

I've been a guitar player for over
30 years and I've
played in pretty much every type of band there is: blues, rock, jazz,
improv, country, etc. I gotta tell ya man: this 3 string CBG is
amazing! I've been experimenting with tunings and this thing has
opened up a whole new world for this old guitar player!
Thanks!

Jag, Just wanted to let you know
that I am really digging my CBG!
You shipped it quick and packed it well and it's easy to play and
sounds fantastic! Thanks again!

-Thomas Green

-Ron Herman, Columbia
Mo

Hi Jag! First, thanks for
answering all my emails,
sorry I had so many questions! Second, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the CBG! It's
perfectly tuned and STAYS in tune (something I can't say for
my Squire Telecaster!!) ands it sound simply FANTASTIC! I've been
playing it every chance I get all weekend and I'm planning on
making
it's debut at the Beerhaus Friday. Can't wait! I'll be sure and tell
everybody where I got it ;)

-Stan Gary, Milpitas Ca

Just wanted you to know that I got
the 6 string BBJ
CBG and it sounds incredible! And it LOOKS incredible too! I always
get comments and people coming up to look at it at my gigs. Thanks
for
such a unique, well made instrument.

-Susan McAllister, Alturas
Ca

Bluesboy Jag, just a note to tell
you that I'm addicted.
To your CBG LOL! I'm getting a tremendous response from the audience
at my gigs due to your CBG and I'm even getting the press to
mention it in their articles! KUDOS!

-Mark Edwards

Hello! I love the CBG! I got here
yesterday and I've
already played it several hours yesterday and today! I've even got
several songs in progress. Amazing how using a different instrument
can
inspirer you.

-Kevin Armstrong, Austin
Tx

Jag, Just a not to let you know
that I received the reliced F hole
CBG in great shape and I love it! Your attention to detail is spot-on
as they say in England :) Well done!

-Chad Gardner, Huntsville,
Al

Jag, just wanted to let you know
that we got the
CBG in time for my husband's birthday and he is THRILLED! He's been
playing it every day and absolutely LOVES it! Thanks again for
such
a unique gift.

-Grace Tipton, San Antonio
Tx

I've been playing one of Jag's
cbg's on the road
for almost 5 years and it's still in great shape and delivers the
goods every time!

-Will Greene, Terre Haute
In

Jag!!! What can I say??!!! The
CBG/Bass Combo
you made for me is truly a great axe. After just a few minutes of
playing slide on it, I wrote a song! It's truly inspiring! THANK
YOU!!

-Tom Ruston, Springfield Il.

Thank you so much for the
exquisitely crafted 3
string cigar box guitar. Sorry I bombarded you with so many
questions! I'm already playing RL Burnside songs with my band and we
just started
playing blues two weeks ago. -

-Scott Calhoun, Myersburg Fl.

My husband loves his 6 string
Bluesboy Jag CBG.
His eyes popped out when he unwrapped it and he's played it every day
since (going on a week now!). Thanks you again for the guitar and
fast shipping.

Jag, Your humbucker CBG SCREAMS! I
get compliments on it every time I play a gig and it's quickly
becoming my fave axe! Thanks SO much!

Thomas Kuester

Bluesboy, just wanted to drop you
a note and tell you that the cbg I ordered last year has played at
least one show a week since I got it. By my calculations that's
pushing 75 shows. It's built 'RAM TOUGH' and stays in tune and never
ceases to bring gawkers up to the front of the stage. Thanks for
helping me put my band on the map.

Steven Hemmings

The BBJ 3 stringer plays
absolutely super and is built like a tank. It hangs with the electric
guitars like you wouldn't believe, and the wide

string spacing allows me to do
hammer on's and pull off's with my trusty Stevens steel bar that are
incredible. In short - it works and it works real real
good!

I've played a couple house parties
with it and will be using it at a benefit this Saturday. Out of all
my CBG family instruments, it's my r